A Hero Till the End
by Writer of Epics
Summary: A dark Shadow has fallen over the land of Ooo. Monsters terrorize the land. The Ice King has fallen. and Finn is washed up on a beach with no clue to how he got there or where his hat is. All princesses humanoid. Serious Finn. no spoiling the pairiing.
1. Chapter 1

**Well here ya go. nice little idea of mine.**

**Disclaimer:I love adv. time and its puns, but if i did own it, which i dont, it would be a little bit more serious. enjoy**

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><p>The beach was very quiet, almost silent. The sky was clear and bright with stars, the moon full and illuminating. The waves were softly lapping against the shore and everything was peaceful. Then a lone cloud, fluffy and innocent peeked over the horizon, and slowly made its way across the sky. It momentarily passed in front of the moon and the beach was dark. Then the beach came alive. A large gust seemed to come from every direction at once, converging on a single point over the ocean, a few yards away from the shore. The air pressure and temperature dropped on the beach followed by a pop and a burst of warmth. Then a splash was heard and everything returned to normal. The cloud moved out from in front of the moon and the night was bright and peaceful in the moons pale light.<p>

A quiet sliding sound was heard moments later, matching the sound of waves on sand, the sound of a man, well, more of a boy, washing up on shore. If someone were around, they'd see he was around sixteen or seventeen, or somewhere in between with golden blonde hair slowly darkening with age and electric blue eyes that shone in the dark. He was about five feet and ten inches tall and thin yet well-muscled from years of adventuring. His name was Finn the Human, and he was unconscious, washed up on the shore of Ooo.

There was a small gurgling sound as black smoke seeped from beneath the hero forming into a small black cloud. Then white glowing eyes opened from the cloud and the fear feaster smiled.

"_Finn, Finn the Human. Hero wake up!" _the malevolent smoke being yelled at Finn. Said hero shook his head groggily and blinked at the spirit.

"Fear? What are you doing here?" the teen asked, slightly slurred as his senses slowly came back to him. He looked up at the smoky presence but it was gone. Confused, he began to get up to see where the Fear Feaster floated off to. His confusion and curiosity was immediately replaced by blinding pain throbbing through his head and clearing all thought except a silent cry of agony.

"What the hell?" he asked himself as soon as the mind numbing pain passed and he was once again gifted with the ability of thought.

"What am I doing here? Where exactly _is_ here anyways?" he brushed his mid length hair out of his eyes, "And where is my hat?" Finn shook his head again and slowly dragged himself up the beach away from the water. Exhausted, Finn passed out.

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"_Finn, wake up homie. P.B. just called and she wants us in the Candy Kingdom five minutes ago." Jake yelled as he rushed up the latter to their shared bedroom. Finn just groaned. He __**hated**__ waking up. Sure he wanted to see Princess Bubblegum but mornings sucked for him._

"_Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming." Finn murmured as he got out of bed. "Just let me take a shower first." When he was younger, he had sworn he would never bathe, but as he got older he realized it was kinda gross to walk around in your own filth all the time and he decided to give up his dirty ways. Yep, that was why. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that P.B. said she hated guys who had B.O..._

_Finn finished up his shower and got dressed. Sheathing his sword and strapping on his pack he looked around for his beloved bear hat. His old backpack that Jake's mom had made for him had finally worn through and torn last year, so Beemo made him a new one out of leather to strap to his belt. Like a belt-pack. To be sentimental, Beemo had lined the inside with the left over material from the last one. Finn now wore his sword on his back in a sheath also made by Beemo. The root handled blade sticking over his right shoulder. He looked up onto his wall above his bed, the family sword. Jake's father had forged it with a demons blood giving it a red color and the ability to light anything it cuts on fire._

_They learned that the hard way. Anyway, Finn didn't need to carry it around because Billy had enchanted it for him to come to his hand if called by name and the intention for it to come. He had named it __**Sanguine Ignis**__. Blood Fire, a fitting name in his opinion. _

"_Finn!" called Jake, "Come on P.B. will be waiting."_

"_Coming." Finn yelled back. Taking one last look at the red sword, he turned and left._

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Finn jerked awake. His dream was cut short but it seemed real, like a memory. He racked his brain for more information, possibly where he was and why he was there, but there wasn't anything. Going with the only lead he had, Finn got up. The headache was agonizing, but much less painful than the one from last night.

Looking around, he saw he still had his side-pack with some mildly soggy bread inside of it. Zipping it up he checked his back and saw that while his sheath was still there, his sword had fallen out while he was, apparently, floating in the ocean or sometime before. Regardless, it was gone. Finn attempted to call **sanguine Ignis** but nothing happened. Confused, he tried again…

Still nothing happened. He sighed, he had only his fists to protect himself and that wasn't changing anytime soon.

Turning away from the sea, he began walking. It was slow going but he didn't have a choice. He walked for several hours. After a while, he took out his loaf of bread and began nibbling on it. His stomach was protesting loudly, both wanting more and rejecting the disgusting food. Apparently his stomach was picky about a little mold. But it was food and food meant energy, meaning he kept it down whether his stomach liked it or not.

After another couple hours, he noticed the landscape begin to change. At first it had only been sand and weeds but slowly, more greenery was showing up and he was soon walking in a grass land.

Several more hours went by and as the sun was setting a lone building came into view. It was still miles away when the moon came out again. Exhausted once again, Finn walked off the road that had formed and began making a fire. He lied his head down on a rock and closed his eyes.

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This time, he didn't sleep as well. He kept tossing and turning, images of a stormy sea, bloody sailors, and the Fear feaster flashing through his head. But the most terrifying image of all was the one of Princess Bubblegum, shouting with a terrified look on her face, but Finn couldn't hear her.

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Finn's eyes snapped awake but he stayed perfectly still and his breathing never changed. It had taken him forever to master that trick but he hadn't given up until he could fool Jake's canine ears. He knew the feeling he had woken up to. His skin crawling and his hair standing on end, something was watching him. Listening closely, his breathing still unchanging; he could hear slightly doglike breathing. It definitely wasn't Jake, he could tell the difference, and it was a wolf. Then he heard a pop and a sizzle. A flame wolf, damn. The wolf lunged without warning and he was barely able to roll out of the way, stopping on one knee. He didn't expect it but a second wolf smashed into him from the side. He hit the ground hard but managed to grab the wolf by the neck. It was then the damn wolf decided to start to get hotter. Finn could hear a sizzle as the wolf started to burn his hands. Trying not to panic as the scent of burning flesh filled the air, his mind frantically scrambled for a solution to his predicament.

_I've survived Giants, Cyclopes, Why-wolves, Marceline, Marceline's Dad, The Ice King, and fricken Death himself. I am NOT gonna be killed by a pair stupid fire wolves dammit! _Finn thought as he grappled with the wild canine. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other wolf, getting ready to lunge. A light bulb went off in his head and he smirked, eliciting a growl from the wolf.

"Not as dumb as you look, huh?" he asked rhetorically. The first wolf lunged and Finn jerked the second one in between him and the flying animal, causing the first wolves fangs to tear into its partner's throat in place of his own. The beast gurgled as it died and the remaining fire wolf struggled to undo its jaw lock.

Finn said, mostly to himself, "Did you know fire wolves explode when they die?" He didn't know if the wolf understood him or not, but he could've sworn the wolf's eye's widened slightly right before its former partner spontaneously combusted. Unfortunately for Finn, he was still in the blast zone.

Crossing his arms in front of his face, he felt the heat singe his hair, flames lick at his arms and torso, burning hot coals raining down on whatever flesh happened to be unprotected at that moment. The force lifted him off his feet and threw him several feet.

"Damn," he whispered, "just my luck" Sitting up made him light headed and he wondered why he had been able to go on so many adventures with and without Jake and come back with little more than a scratch but two days in the wilderness on his own gets him washed up on a beach with no idea how he got there, attacked by wolves, and almost incinerated in an explosion. Speaking of which…

Finn felt weird as he felt a very cool and refreshing breeze on his chest. Looking down, he almost threw up. His shirt was burnt to a blackened, soot covered crisp. Ash from his shirt was mixing with blood pouring out of areas where blisters had formed and popped in the heat, his whole chest was either a painful looking red or a scary looking black. His arms were in no better condition. He almost passed out again, and would have if he hadn't heard an ominous growl.

Turning his head, he saw the first wolf was still very much alive. Half its face was oozing blood, like his chest, and there were spots of missing fur everywhere. One eye swollen shut, you could see hate and malice pulsing from the fire wolfs one remaining black eye.

Getting to his feet, Finn yelled, "Well? Come and get me. I haven't got all fricken night!"

The wolf snarled and lunged. Finn made a sound that sounded remarkably close to the wolf's snarl, close enough to be described with the same word. He lunged as well and punched. The wolf bit down, but got nothing but empty air, the human's fist sail through the air and connected solidly with the fire wolf's black snout. A crunch could be heard as the snout shattered. A snap could be heard as the animals neck broke. A cry could be heard as the human was caught in a second explosion, this one burning his back and reducing what was left of his mildly protective shirt to ash. The hero was grateful as he sank into the merciful blackness of unconsciousness.

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Finn woke to the sound of fire crackling and the smell of food cooking. He groaned and thought, _How many times am I gonna get knocked out? I mean come on._ He grunted and decided to get up.

_Bad idea!_ As soon as his body was off the bed, his knees gave out and there was a small series of popping sounds. A rush of pain pushed most thought from his head but he could swear he heard the soft patter of bare feet on hardwood floor and a quiet squeak, like someone who was surprised but couldn't quite get out a gasp. He could swear he felt hands on his shoulders but began to fade out.

When he opened his eyes he was on the bed again and he could feel tightness on his chest. Raising his head slightly, he could see it was covered with crisp white bandages, as were his arms. He was just starting to sit up again when he felt two small hands on his chest push him down. He hissed in pain and was about to bite the head off the person who would do this when he was injured. He even opened his mouth but was interrupted.

"You're not very smart are you?" said a small high voice. It sounded like a young girls and seemed to reverberate with anger and worry. Cracking an eye, Finn saw a face he found vaguely familiar. She had a thin face with two big eyes, one a bright emerald green, the other a warm chocolate brown, Heterochromia, That's what P.B. called it. And he only knew one person with that. He didn't even have to look at the patched rag of a dress or mismatched stitched socks, or even the tiara made of a large shard of broken glass. It was Raggedy Princess.

Finn opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him again.

"Don't speak." She snapped at him then turned around and began collecting items from around the small cottage. Finn realized this must have been the building he saw in the distance before being attacked by the fire wolves.

She walked up, looking less angry but still kinda pissed. "How did you manage to beat two fire wolves anyways?" she asked, "Most people couldn't stand to touch them, much less beat them to death." Finn just raised an eyebrow, as if to say 'I thought I wasn't supposed to talk.' R.P. rolled her eyes but he could see she was trying to hide a slight blush. He supposed it was because his hat was missing. Marceline always told him he should leave it at home because he was handsome without it; she always said his eyes seemed to glow when the sun shined off his golden hair. Like she would know, crazy vampire, she only ever saw him without his hat when she stole it from him, and that was at night. He really needed to talk to her about spying on him and Jake. And he never understood how she managed to blush after saying this, her eyes would get this far away 'soul search-y' look and all he would be able to think about is why she could blush when she was cold to the touch and had been undead for 1000+ years.

Mentally shaking these thoughts from his head, he returned his gaze to Raggedy Princess and watched as she removed the bandages from around his throat, wincing slightly as the warm air in the cottage stung against his burns, and rubbing a cooling salve on it.

"Okay," she said finally after replacing Finn's bandages, "you can talk now, I just needed to check my stitches and put on some aloe. I'm Addie by the way, Addie the Raggedy Princess." She did a curtsy and put on a small comforting smile.

Finn hadn't known her first name, and he realized without his hat she wouldn't recognize him as she hadn't seen him since she gave him his repaired backpack after the Lich incident. Finn smiled warmly.

"Hey, great to see you again, Addie." He said knowingly as she got a confused look on her face.

"How do you…" she trailed off as began to place where they had met, "Finn?"

He laughed, "You look totally mathematical R.P."

Addie squealed and glomped Finn, squeezing his mid-section in a hug that made him see stars. His burns were screaming for attention and he could swear he popped some stitches. Then as suddenly as the hug began, it ended. Addie backed off with an angry look on her face, her mismatched eyes flashed and she slapped him across the face. Finn's head held its struck position and the sound reverberated off the walls. Sitting up, Finn touched his face looking stunned and just a little hurt.

"Wh…" Finn began but was silenced by Addie putting one of her pointer fingers to his lips. She motioned for him to follow and ran to the window. Curious, Finn cautiously stood up and limped across the room. His left leg was killing him, causing him to favor his right slightly. Addie pulled back the curtain showing the scene beyond.

Finn didn't know how he missed it before, but it was painfully obvious to him now. The countryside was in ruins. The large orchard that Tree Trunks had grown with R.P. was gone. Replaced with cleanly cut stumps and twisted burnt trees that had apparently been too difficult to cut. The sky was oddly overcast and the grass was yellow and sickly. The dirt was dry and cracked. This earth was dead and nothing would grow here but weeds and bitterness. The worst part of all was on top of the hill, in perfect view of the window, where Tree Trunks's prized apple tree had sat, was now a headstone. It read:

**Here lies Tree Trunks, a farmer, a friend, a loved one. May she forever Rest In Peace.**

That was it, two measly sentences made by people who didn't even know the kindly old elephant. But upon closer inspection, Finn could see there was something else scratched into the stone grave marker. It chilled Finn to the bone and made his head spin.

Scratched into the headstone was a second sentence. In terrible, unpracticed handwriting, it said:

_**All Finn's Fault!**_

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><p><strong>Bumm<strong>** bumm buuuuuummm. ive had this idea in my head and i have no idea where it came from but i like it im not gonna give away much but if something as small as tree trunks gardens like this, imagine the situation the rest of Ooo is in. Why was Finn on tha beach? where is Jake? Why is Finn having such bad luck all of a sudden? igk...:)**

**let me know what you think. peace out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:Sorry it took so long guys i just had to muscle my way through the writers block, not to mention wrapping up freshman year has forced me to start pullin my metaphorical head out of my ass or have said ass be served to me on a silver platter. anyway you will find i like to add a little poetry to my stories, all completely from my head of cource. enjoy.**

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><p>Finn stumbled back, away from the window, as if shocked him. <em>All Finn's Fault! <em>Those words kept repeating themselves in his head like some demonic chorus trying to drive him to madness, which, considering how many demons Finn had managed to piss off in his sixteen years of life, it was a definite possibility. Finn just kept shaking his head, but couldn't tear his eyes away from that one sentence.

_All Finn's Fault!_

Finn turned around suddenly and bolted out the door. Sprinting around the small cottage, he ran at full speed through the dead orchard and stopped at the grave. He remembered when Tree Trunks had thanked them for saving her from her insanity right here under the tree that used to stand where her grave was now. He remembered her promise to him and the trust he had in her.

Wait… her promise! Not even Jake or anyone else knew about that. It was about then that Addie finally appeared at his side, breathing hard.

"Dummy!" she cursed at him as she poked and prodded Finn's midsections for tears in the healing wounds. It was fine though. He always healed really fast. Marceline said it was faster than any natural human should have been able to heal. Whatever, it didn't matter though. Ignoring R.P., he walked around to the other side of the grave. He hated himself for doing this, but it was necessary, not just to keep him safe, but to get revenge. **Nobody** touched Finn the Human's friends and lived to tell about it.

"Um, Finn? What are you doing?" the thirteen year old princess of raggedy dolls asked the teen hero. Finn didn't answer, he just bent over and started digging directly behind the kindly elephants grave. If Addie was mad before, now she was seething. If this were Flame Princess he was dealing with, he'd be ash when she was done. Luckily for the adventurous blond, Raggedy Princess didn't have such destructive powers.

He didn't have to dig far, lucky for him as his arms were screaming with exertion and his stitches straining. But what he found was worth it. He could remember Trunks's poetic promise with perfect clarity.

_In the North, the East, and the cave of a queen,_

_You will find power, these three._

_Though free for the taking, they come with a cost,_

_For with everything gained, something is lost._

When asked where she heard this before, trunks had only ever replied, "I read it in a book once. You know us elephants Finn, we never forget anything."

Brushing away the final dirt, he found what Trunks promised would be there. He picked up a silvery steel sword with a black gemlike stone set into the pommel, maybe smoky quartz or obsidian. The sword was an average looking broadsword, with leather bound grip and a normal cross hand guard. But set into the center of the blade was a rune with a soft blue glow, like on his golden sword, though he never showed anyone, so it stood to reason that this sword could cut through enchantments like butter as well. But the price, like always, was too high.

Trunks had warned him the legend of the three powers also said that the price was never direct, and never took what was expected. In this case, the price for Finn's power could've been Trunks's life, or the tiny bit of happiness that stayed in the hole he had just desecrated his friend's grave with. Either way, the words on the headstone were closer to the truth than Finn could comprehend. He just felt they were right, like this was entirely his fault_._

_All Finns Fault!_

Addie was just staring at Finn. Finally the look got to him.

"What?"

Tears started to well up in her mismatched eyes.

"WHAT!" he yelled as her teary expression made his skin crawl. She flinched as his voice became loud. His gaze softened and he pulled her in for a hug. "Sshh. R.P., sshh, its ok."

"Why?" Addie sobbed into Finn's chest. "Why did you take her from me? She was my friend. My friend! I'm lost without her! What am I supposed to do now? What do I do?" She started beating his chest in her fit. He didn't stop her.

Finn didn't have an answer for the young princess. He didn't know what she should do. All he knew is if Jake were to die, for any reason, Finn would be lost. But he didn't take Trunks away from Addie. Someone else killed her. But he was the hero, right? So in a sense, it was his fault she was dead because he wasn't here to help her. He might as well have killed Trunks himself.

_All Finn's Fault!_

Raggedy Princess was being torn apart by her grief. Her slight frame was being racked with sobs and his bandages were acting as a tissue by soaking up her tears. He could understand though, Trunks had raised her and now the old elephant was gone. Finn decided then and there to help her.

"R.P.," Finn said firmly, lifting her chin to look her in the eyes. Her bottom lip quivering as she was trying to hold back her tears. "I didn't kill Trunks. But I promise you this," Finn stepped back from her and stabbed the sword into the ground between them. "I will find the bastard that did this and make him pay." Then Finn remembered when P.B. read him stories about knights and told him how it was romantic when they were all formal for the princess. Ever the romantic guy, Finn had learned how to say many things formally, including how to pledge loyalty. That seemed appropriate.

Kneeling to Addie, he said, "I, Finn the human, pledge my sword, my loyalty, and my life to your cause, princess. Will you accept me as your champion?" He looked down. The book he had learned this from said while doing this, he was offering to become her temporary servant, so it was wrong to look her in the eye while doing this. He didn't know why he wasn't supposed to but he didn't want to screw it up.

After a long while, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Addie was on her knees so their eyes were level, Finn still kneeling on one knee. She wrapped his head in a hug and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I will." She said quietly. Like she was afraid Finn would take it back if she spoke too loudly. "Thank you, my knight." It was then that he decided to return the hug. Putting his other knee down on the ground, so they were both on their knees, Finn pulled Addie into his chest for a real hug. She was crying again. But this time she wasn't sobbing, they were tears of relief. At least she wasn't alone.

Her breathing slowed and Finn saw she was asleep with a small smile gracing her lips. Smiling to himself, Finn picked up the thirteen year old girl and carried her and his new sword inside the small cottage. He laid her down on the bed he had recently occupied in his injured stupor, and laid down on the ground.

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_Stepping out of the tree house felt refreshing to Finn. It had been weeks since their last adventure, even though they constantly chilled with Peebles and Marceline, there hadn't been any real excitement for days._

'_Although,' reasoned the voice that sounded like P.B. in the back of his mind. It wasn't hard to understand why his voice of reason sounded like the pink princess. After all, she was the most logical and intelligent person he knew (and bossy but he would never admit that to anyone). The odd part was how little Finn listened to it. But it usually worked out in the end, even though the incident with fire princess could've gone better. Finn involuntarily winced, after two years that one still hurt. Shaking his head, he forced himself back onto a less painful train of thought._

'_Although,' the little P.B. repeated while managing to sound irritated at being interrupted, 'what is "exciting" for you is usually what others call pure stupidity.'_

_How do you s'pose that?_

'_Last week you wrestled three mountain trolls, by yourself, while Jake was getting hotdogs. Afterwards, you collected a bet from all three trolls, two bystanders, and Jake who all bet you would lose. And you call __**that**__ boring?'_

_They weren't that big, and there were four trolls._

'_I rest my case.' Done arguing with himself, Finn turned his attention to the road. Bubblegum voice or not, it still, unfortunately, had Finn's sarcasm, and fighting with someone as stubborn and irritating as yourself was never very fun._

"_Hey bro, what's wrong? You're getting all 'soul search-y' on me." Jake asked sounding concerned and playful at the same time. Finn blinked when he realized they'd been walking for a while and Finn had yet to say anything._

_Smiling, he said, "I'm coolio bro. I was just arguing with myself." 'I never understood why Jake used the same slang I did. He was twenty-eight years old and went on adventures with a twelve year old and not only lowered how people saw him by using my barely comprehensible language, but he was the _sidekick_! He's thirty two, he should be settling down, marrying Lady Rainicorn, but he's still adventuring with me. I'm not even his real brother.' Finn thought._

_He looked at me with an odd expression then turned away. "Well anyway bro, wanna hop on my back and save time?"_

_Finn smiled, "Sure lets go." Jumping on Jake's back, he stretches his legs really long to cover more distance faster. While up there, Finn saw the fire kingdom in the distance and just stared. 'I wonder what F.P. is doing.' There was a huff in his mind. Finn's voice of reason didn't like the Flame princess. For some reason, Finn didn't care._

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Finn awoke to the scent of apples with a faint hint of cinnamon. Opening his eyes slowly, he found R.P. curled up against his chest, asleep. Wait…

R.P. curled up against him!

"Shit!" swore Finn as he backed up until his head hit the bed that Addie was _supposed_ to be on. Addie looked at him like he had grown a third head. Finn was scrambling trying to make sense of what had transpired during the night.

He started pacing while saying, "Crap, crap, crap! Now I know why P.B. didn't date me when I was so much younger than her. This is just so wrong. Addie, did I do anything to you? I did, didn't I? Oh crap, I am so sorry I don't know what happened. Was I drunk? But how did I get drunk without drinking? I don't even like alcohol."

He would've gone on like this if Addie hadn't bust out laughing in his face. Looking at her oddly, she explained that she sleep walked. Finn almost fainted from relief, or maybe it was the hyperventilating.

Minutes later, Addie was cooking breakfast and Finn was sitting on her bed, thinking. Why had he said that? Did he understand why P.B. wouldn't date him? Did he just not want to admit it? He didn't know. He had been crushing on the pink princess for over six years.

xxxxxxxxxxx Flashback xxxxxxxxxxx

_A ten year old Finn walking through the mountains with a younger looking Jake. They had been looking for a place to live after… _that_ incident._

_All of a sudden, they heard a loud scream. It sounded like a girls. Without sparing a glance over his shoulder, Finn took off through a crack in the side of the mountain, where the scream had reverberated from. Tearing out his short sword, which in all reality was just a larger than normal knife, he sprinted into the cave. Coming to a large opening with a lake in the middle and large amounts of gold piled everywhere, he saw a large rock man, and he meant large, as in three houses stacked on top of each other large, holding a girl. Running at the monster, Finn swung his butter knife at its foot. _

_Giggling, the monster looked down and saw Finn swinging at his foot to no avail. It kicked Finn across the room and resumed stroking the girl's hair. The girl screamed again, this time for Finn._

_Getting up, Finn raked his hand through the gold until it came across something that felt heavy. Picking it up, hoping to throw it, he saw it was a sword. A grin appeared on his face as he realized this monster liked gold, and probably didn't like thieves._

_Running into the shallow banks of the large underground lake, Finn faced away from it and started shouting and yelling at the monster. Waving the sword seemed to work as he saw the glint of gold and rage went through his eyes like a wildfire. Dropping the girl safely into the arms of a newly arriving Jake, the monster charged. Waiting until the very last second, the ten year old jumped to the side and the rock man went barreling by. Since rock doesn't float, the creature never had a chance._

_When Finn got back to the girl, she had just finished introducing herself._

"_I am Princess Bubblegum of candy kingdom. Thank you very much for your help, you're both very brave." She said politely. She was about five feet and six inches tall and looked to be fifteen with pink hair that reached the small of her back. She had a pink shade to her skin and cotton candy pink eyes. Finn's eyes might as well have been shaped like hearts, his blush was so obvious. Oblivious to his body's betrayal, Finn introduced himself and his brother._

"_I-I'm Finn, and this is my brother Jake." He said meekly._

_Bubblegum smiled. "Nice to meet you two, Finn, and Jake. Come by candy kingdom sometime, you would like it I bet. Bye." She said as her entourage found her. 'Useless bunch they are' Finn thought. 'She's probably wondering how a ten year old saved her. Well I'm just that awesome!'_

_It wasn't long after that they found the tree house. It was perfect._

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She was and always would be a whole five years older than him. But did that matter? It seemed to matter just a few minutes ago when he thought he did… _that_ with Addie, and she was only three years younger than him.

Finn shook his head. While not dumb as people believed, since he could read, write, and figure out thousand year old traps without a scratch, but deep thinking gave him a headache like he was straining the muscle too hard. Marceline said it was because he was trying to use something he didn't have. While incredibly hurtful, she was right. He had never gone to school so he had never official learned a whole lot. That was why he wasn't always smarter than everyone else.

Then Addie walked in and all thoughts in Finn's head ceased while his mouth hung open. She was holding a plate full of bacon.

Finn was a tornado that morning as he inhaled the first real food he'd had in days. When he was finally stuffed he sat back with a sigh of contentment. R.P. had barely finished one plate. When breakfast was over, Addie collected their dishes and brought them over to the sink. While she was washing dishes, Finn was left to his recently recovered thoughts.

He was at an impasse about Addie. On one hand, he didn't want to leave her here by herself. With Trunks grave just sitting there staring at her, she would go crazy. On the other hand, if he took her with him, it's very likely he would get into a fight, and protecting himself while protecting her would likely overextend his abilities and get them _both _killed. '_What to do, what to do. Innie Minnie minney mo… aw whatever.'_ Finn thought. He picked one and clamped down on the idea.

"So Addie." He stated meekly. '_damn! Im not meek!'_

"Hm?" she asked, not really paying attention while she finished the dishes.

"I was wondering…"

"Yes?"

Finn took a deep breath.

"Wouldyouliketocomewithme?" he asked, rushing through it. _'Coward'_

"What?"

Finn took another deep breath and said, "Do you wanna come with me?"

Addie was beaming. "Really?" she said, excited. Finn nodded. She squealed and jumped _over_ the table to hug him. Then she ran around the cottage packing the things she'd need.

'_What she needs is a weapon.'_ said a small voice that sounded like Jake. Finn thought of it as his voice of instinct. Whenever Jake wasn't around and he needed help on the more practical side of life, his instincts used Jakes voice as a way to get to him. They were usually right anyways.

Finn slowly got up as to not upset his rapidly healing burns and gathered up the sword and sheath, which had managed to survive two explosions which burned him, singed his hair and pants and reduced his shirt to ash. Strapping the sword around his back, he felt something was missing. He walked calmly into the kitchen area, completely opposite of Addie, who was a whirlwind of energy at the moment, and began sorting through her collection of knives. The kitchen blades were small and dull, but eventually he came to one that was different. Actually meant for hunting but adapted into a carving knife, it was larger than the others, a 9 ½ inch bowie knife. It had a bone handle and a wickedly sharp looking blade. It was perfect.

"Hey Finn? What are you doing?" Addie asked, the excitement evident in her voice.

Finn raised the blade and smiled, "Im gonna teach you to fight when we're on the road." Addie looked like she was gonna explode with excitement.

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Several hours later, two cloaked figures stood in front of a cottage turned inferno. The larger of the two looked down at his companion.

"You know, you didn't have to do this. You could have come back after all this was done."

"No." stated the smaller of the two in a high feminine voice. Her mismatched eyes glistened with tears and her previous excitement had wilted and been replaced with grieving with a hint of anxiety.

Addie rubbed the tears from her eyes and said, "This way there is no turning back, no regret, and no weakness. If I fall, I am now forced to get back up because there is no place for me to return to."

Finn looked down at her and smiled at her strength.

"_And she died, reduced to ash,_

_Thunder boomed and lightning crashed,_

_But from the remains, she rose anew,_

_And with flaming glory,_

_The Phoenix Flew"_

Addie smiled but said nothing. Turning their backs to the flame, the cloaked adventurers left behind the orchard. There was a price to be paid, and they intended to collect in full.

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><p><strong>AN: I tried my hand at combining awkwardness and irony in this chapter. also tell me how ya like it if you dont mind. that button dont bite and neither do i...**

**usually.**

**Ella Unlimited- Thank you for the praise, i love a story that will keep you interested so i attepmt at cliffhangers is usually present. as a budding author i humbly thank you fro the praise(Finn's not the only one who knows how to be formal)anyway glad u enjoyed it.**

**Bigslayerguyman- Yes it is sad that trunks is dead and i have to say im a little guilty that when i read your review, the saying 'Timber!' went though my head, again, thank you for the praise.**

**Mockslide- Thank you very much.**

**And if anyone thinks the author notes are just for more words, the word count for this chapter before the author notes were included was 3,194 words. W.O.E. out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, here it is. I still haven't decided on a pairing but i will try to make up my mind. but there is just soooo many possibilties for the stroy i have planned out. and im considering changing the story type to thriller but i dont know. let me know if you think this will be apropriate, that and a rating change for future violence. if i do change the rating i wont write lemons but i might get damn close. either way tell me if you think it would be appropriate or necessary to make the story better.**

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><p>"Again!"<p>

Addie grunted as she used the large knife she was wielding to block and push away Finns blade. He was only using the flat side and was swinging incredibly slow and weak. Even so, she had always been in shape but her body wasn't designed for this type of work. The bowie knife she was wielding was large for a knife but too short to be a short sword. It was much lighter than Finns sword, but the weight didn't seem to make any difference to him as he swung time and time again with barely a grunt of effort, his burns barely affecting him in this exertion.

She let her mind wander as her body mechanically slipped into the practice routine that Finn had been drilling into her for the past day and a half. After leaving behind the smoking ruins that she had turned her cottage into, Addie was surprised at how quickly Finn fell into a routine, and almost literally pulled her into it as well. While she had expected to receive the knife after they left and she expected the training to be difficult, she was not expecting how mentally and physically draining it all would be. It had only been one day but she already ached all over.

A dull pain in her thigh brought her mind to focus and her body to her knees. Addie Looked up at Finn and saw the point of his sword at her neck.

"If I was a real enemy, you'd be dead." He said in a no nonsense tone. Then he smiled a little and continued, "You stuck to the routines very well but try to improvise a little. If you get I a real fight, and you stick to just the routine, you'll lose, very fast. The repeated routine is to build muscle and a base for your skill to grow, but if you don't experiment, you'll end up seriously lacking."

Addie nodded her head and started to slip into a defensive stance but Finn stopped her. "That's enough, overworked muscles are worse than out of shape muscles."

Addie let herself smile. While she had been incredibly angry at Finn for disappearing, and therefore not being able to help with Ooo's new problem, she was still happy when he said he'd help her with her quest for revenge. She was living a dream that she was sure several other princess's had also dreamt several times, going on an adventure with Finn, her hero. She blushed as she remembered his reaction when he woke up spooning her. Despite what she had told Finn, she didn't sleep walk, she had woken up in the middle of the night screaming, having a nightmare about _that_ night. When she saw him on the floor, smiling in his sleep, she thought, _'Probably dreaming about Jake, or maybe it's _her_. What did Bonnibel do to earn his love anyways? She just ends up rejecting him and he still follows her around like a lost puppy.'_

Shaking those angry thoughts from her head, she smiled at his sleeping form. She had thought he was cute with his hat, without it he was, dare she say it, HOT. His hair was the color of spun gold and his eyes like cerulean orbs straight from the sky. It made her blush just thinking of him smiling at her. Sighing, she didn't even think as she crawled from her bed and slipped under the blanket he had on the floor. Snuggling as close to Finn as she could, she turned to him and she did something that surprised even herself. It sure as hell would surprise him if he was awake; she leaned in close and gently captured his lips with her own. It was just a peck on the lips but to her, it might as well have lasted a hundred years. His lips were warm and tasted like… well she couldn't describe it, she had never tasted anything like it, and he smelt of smoked wood, not unpleasantly though. Heat rushed through her face and throughout her entire body. After she released his lips, she turned around pushed back into him without waking him, even though he could probably sleep through an explosion at this point, she sighed and let sleep take her.

Addie sighed out loud without even realizing it. He may not have been conscious, or even dreaming of a certain pink haired tease, but it was her first kiss and it had been amazing, she could just imagine what it would be like if he were to kiss back.

'_Maybe I should sneak into his sleeping bag tonight. I have to admit that, that was the best sleep I've had in a long time. There were no nightmares, just pleasant bliss.' _Addie thought with a happy buzz settling in her core. She was vaguely conscious of Finn setting up a campfire and setting a bird he had caught while on the road over it on a spit.

_What would he see in you? _Sneered a voice from the back of her head. _He's, well, him. And you're just a thirteen year old girl with dirt colored skin, dressed in rags, and not to mention have two different eye colors. What could he get out of you that he couldn't get out of Bonnibel Bubblegum? _The voice seemed to spit the candy princess's name.

Addie mentally lifted her chin at the voice, _'He can find love.'_ The voice didn't respond. Addie smirked at her victory. Plan "Seduce Finn" began now.

"Finn?" she called, putting a little sway in her thin hips, not that he noticed.

"Huh? What's up?" He asked but suddenly his eyes widened and his jaw set. "Addie, watch out!" he yelled tackling her. She saw a black blur streak over Finn and her as they fell to the ground. At the last second Finn turned in the air and took the force of the fall as she fell into his chest.

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"Again!" Finn barked at Addie as she finished her set. He pushed the flat of his blade at her again and again as she ran though her set again. She blocked, dodged, and attempted a counter but Finn flicked his wrist and her bowie knife was balanced on the tip of his sword, and he once again went on the offensive. Finn let his mind go blank as his body was lost in the dance of battle. Slash, block, parry, stab, and repeat.

He noticed she was working mechanically now, while all well and good in a spar, he had to stress that letting one's mind wander in a real fight would end badly for you. Finn did a quick spin; he twirled around behind her and brought the flat of his sword against her thigh, bringing her into reality and to her knees.

Lowering the tip of his sword to her throat to signify his victory, in a flat no nonsense tone he said, "If I were a real enemy, you'd be dead." Finn smiled, "You stuck to the routines very well but try to improvise a little. If you get I a real fight, and you stick to just the routine, you'll lose, very fast. The repeated routine is to build muscle and a base for your skill to grow, but if you don't experiment, you'll end up seriously lacking."

Addie nodded her head and started to slip into a defensive stance but Finn stopped her. "That's enough, overworked muscles are worse than out of shape muscles."

Addie nodded again and sat down, probably to think. Not that Finn blamed her for being so disconnected, he probably would be too if not only Jake had died, but he had burned down their home as well.

_She probably has a lot to think about Finn, give her some time. _Said Finn's voice of reason, it sounded like P.B. when Finn had said or done something that made her sad, like when she found out he was the last human. Finn flinched at the thought. He hated thinking about his lack of a family, like a _real_ blood family with other humans. He couldn't even rebuild his race because there wasn't another human, _anywhere_! The thieves had turned out to be descendants of mutants, Susan Strong was the same. He was the last of his species and didn't belong anywhere. That may have been the reason he was a hero, the thing that fueled his bravery, his desire to belong and be accepted.

_Go get some firewood bro._ said Jake. The voice was keeping Finn from getting too deep into depression with some good old fashion work. Looking at Addie to make sure she was okay before setting off to get wood (she was blushing for some reason) Finn grabbed his sword and set off.

Finn and Addie had walked for hours on end yesterday and had eventually left the grassland behind and entered the forest. By Finn's guess, they were probably two days from the Candy Kingdom. But that didn't make this part of the forest any less dangerous. With Why-Wolves, killer plants, poisonous berries and snakes, not to mention random dungeons, usually filled with long dormant monsters, buried under the surface just waiting to make a violent reappearance, this forest was not for the faint of heart. And legends told of a very great, very beautiful spirit that lived in the center of the forest, a place where nothing has been to and lived to tell of it.

Regardless, they needed to pass through this part of the forest to get to the Great Plains, where Finn tree house was and the crossroad to almost all of Ooo. A strange buzz ran down Finn's spine and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He was being watched, but he couldn't do anything about it and reacting would just alert his observer that they had been discovered, something Finn didn't want them privy to until he was thoroughly sure the ball was in his own court.

Finding a dry log, Finn drew his sword. Breathing in, he moved the blade impossibly fast; his arm little more than a blur, and when his arm finally stopped, his sword was already sliding into its sheath. Finn kicked the log and it fell apart into several different pieces of cleanly cut firewood. _'Hopefully that will scare anything watching away.'_ Regardless, the low buzz didn't go away but it did get considerably weaker. Gathering the wood in his arms, Finn wandered back to the road where Addie was.

Walking out from the woods revealed Addie had not moved an inch. And to make matters worse, she was staring off into space. _Bro,_ Jake said, _you need to work on her instincts, or at least her awareness. I bet she hasn't noticed you left. _Unfortunately, Finn was inclined to agree.

Setting about making a fire proved not only difficult, but menial and frustrating. The wind was blowing from the north, and the ice kingdom chilled air kept blowing out the flames he had created. Setting his back to the wind, he finally got a very small smoky fire and added wood until it was a roaring flame.

"Finn?" called Addie. Looking up he saw that she was walking with what looked like a slight limp. _'Maybe I shouldn't have hit her leg so hard.' _he thought. Finn heard both Jake and Princess Bubblegum groan with exasperation. Why? He didn't know.

Realizing he had momentarily spaced out, Finn replied, "Huh, what's up?"

Suddenly the buzz that had been low but still slightly irritating this whole time increased to a vibration that made his teeth chatter, forcing him to set his jaw. His heart rate sped up considerably, his senses enhanced, allowing him to take in everything at once, and he suddenly became aware of a black figure lunging directly for R.P.

"Addie, look out!" he yelled and dragged her to the ground. At the last second Finn turned in the air and took the brunt of the fall and keeping a surprised Addie from getting hurt. Quickly rolling, Finn placed Addie behind him and drew his blade.

Hearing a guttural laugh, Finn looked to the source. The black figure was actually a very large black wolf…

That stood up on two legs. It was a Why-wolf.

"Why is it always wolves?" Finn muttered. Addie seemed to flatten against his back. Looking through his peripheral vision, Finn saw the woods surrounding the clearing had been filled with more Why-wolves than Finn had ever seen in one place before.

Standing up, Finn spoke up, "Hey, Tall dark and ugly, what do you want?"

The wolf growled as his paws shifted to large furry hands with long sharp claws where the nails would be, "My name is Socrates, human! And what we want is you blood! Or at least our employer does. We have decided in the spirit of fairness, that I, the strongest of our pack, would face you one on one. It will be a duel to the death and if you do not fight, we will kill you and your friend."

Finn smirked, "Okay, I accept on the terms that one, Addie is free from any harm whatsoever, and two, if I win, you all leave me and Addie alone." There was some growling and barking among the pack in the woods, and after a few minutes everyone quieted down and a single bark echoed from a large grey wolf with a scar over its left eye.

Socrates nodded and turned back to Finn, "We can accept the first but not the second. And you must understand, we do this out of compassion for the little girl, well, and she doesn't look as tasty as those little houses. Regardless, intelligent beings such as us, will always meet final requests." And with that, Socrates rushed forward, teeth bared and claws extended.

Pushing Addie back away from him, Finn grinned. The sight was little more than slightly disturbing as his smile stretched across his face and a very dangerous light came into his eyes, making him look demonic. More than a couple Why-wolves whimpered softly and backed up.

The smile was very appropriate in Finn's opinion. It truly showed how much he was enjoying himself. Usually with Jake or P.B. or another person around, he would only casually smirk if he won, but in reality, Finn loved battle. No, loved wasn't the right word for it. He craved it! It was like a drug to him, and it filled him with euphoria unmatched by anything else. He had felt like this ever since the first battle to save P.B. when he was ten. The intense satisfaction he had gotten when he led that rock creature to its watery demise had thrilled him. At first, he thought it was because he was supposed to be a hero, like it was his calling. It wasn't until he suddenly had gotten the desire to hunt through the forest for other things to kill that he realized that the urge was less for saving, and more for the fighting it entailed.

This scared him. It frightened him that he would want to hurt things for the sake of hurting them. So he pushed it away, he suppressed his urge to kill, and hoped that nobody ever found out about it. So when Jake and he had become adventurers, he was only too happy to agree. He had found an outlet for it and thought it would help. But instead it fed his desire. He started to get bored with kicking the stuff out of the Ice King and started craving real violence, to cause pain and devastation. He craved carnage! When he had gone on his 'My Way' rampage, he had let out only a fraction of his desire. He was still self-conscious about his homicidal thoughts.

But here was a deadly creature, even now heading for his jugular, just asking to be split in half. Yes, Finn's smile was appropriate, here was his release, and he was ecstatic about it.

When Socrates came within arm's reach of Finn and he had yet to raise his sword in defense, or do anything to defend himself, Socrates thought he had given up. He growled in disappointment that the prey didn't want to resist. But at the last second, Finn's stance shifted slightly. He went from standing still, his arms by his side and his weight evenly distributed to both legs, to leaning slightly on his left leg. The demonic smile never leaving his face, he started giggling, then without warning, he lunged forward and started weaving the blade in a pattern so intricate, that the Why-wolf's 'advanced mind' couldn't differentiate Finn's skill from random and desperate swings. Thinking it was the latter, the Why-wolf rushed past his seemingly unpracticed guard… and sliced through only air.

Looking over his shoulder, Socrates saw Finn staring at him with his demonic grin still in place. Finn raised his hand to make a 'thumbs up' sign at Socrates, and slowly turned it downward. This filled the wolf humanoid with dread… and seconds later with intense pain. Socrates's vision began to fade as his head hit the ground, the last thing he saw were his legs crumpling a good three feet away from him.

Finn's constant giggle increased in volume to a laugh that suggested he was less than mentally stable. He pointed his sword at the Why-wolves and turned in a slow circle, challenging all of them. They rushed forward and Finn continued laughing as he raised his blade and lunged for the nearest one.

_Ahahahahahaha! Yes! Kill! Kill them! All of them! KILL! _Screamed a voice that sounded like the Lich King had entered his mind again. Finn didn't care; he closed his eyes listened to the sweet choir of howls of pain and anger, and let all his remaining restraints disappear. He lost all sense of himself in the battle. He only felt the euphoria of slaughter. He only saw crimson and black. He only smelled fear and defiance. He only tasted sweat and blood. It was like a feast for his soul, and he had every intention of being a glutton.

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Addie stood in wonder and fear, as Finn, her Finn, became a dealer of death. He slaughtered the Why-wolves, and he smiled and laughed while doing it. He gracefully spun and twirled, he hacked and stabbed, but he never once opened his eyes. It was as if he was listening to some fine music only he could hear and nothing else in the world mattered as he danced to the music, the music of battle.

It awed her, and as she got over her fright, she became entranced by his grace and skill. Her eyes never left his and her heart fluttered in her chest. He was brutal, unmerciful to the creature of evil, but he was also beautiful. He was the demon of battle, the angel of death, he was Finn the human, and he was the bane of evil. He had captured her heart before, and this side of him, that she was certain nobody else had seen as she had seen him fight before, but he had never fought like this. This new side of him was something not meant for the eyes of others and she loved him all the more for it.

The largest Why-wolf, the one with the scar over his eye, howled once and all why-wolves began running. He had called a retreat, but by the look of it, Finn wasn't having that. Addie saw him grab several Why-wolves by their hind legs and pull them back toward him, only to be slaughtered and dismembered like so many before them.

Addie was about to cheer before a large, paw-like hand descended over her mouth and a large furry arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her from the ground. As the wolf-man began carrying her away, she bit down, causing the wolf to yelp and let go of her mouth long enough for her to yell,

"Finn!"

His eyes snapped to her and his grin instantly left his face. His eyes never changed though, they filled with a homicidal rage, but they still looked like he was having fun, like he was looking forward to ripping this Why-wolf limb from limb. It sent a excited shiver down Addie's spine and a one of terror down the Why-wolf's. Giving a second yelp, the Why-wolf turned from the clearing and escaped with its brethren. The last thing Addie saw before the woods obscure her view of Finn was his futile attempt at chasing the pack of wolves that were, for lack of better word, scared shitless, literally in some cases. Finally, Addie passed out from lack of oxygen.

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In the dark recesses of a damp cave, stood a collection of cages, many of which were empty, the exception being one, quite large cage, in comparison to the others, that was currently occupied by a man. Man being the term only because he could no longer be classified as a boy, as a boy could not see the things he had seen or done the things he had done, and still be called so. He was in all appearance, human, that is, until he opened his eyes to reveal two glowing topaz orbs that were decidedly not human and appeared much more wolf-like in nature. These eyes had opened due to a sound, one this man was quite accustom to, as he had heard the Why-wolves come and go from their lair many time before.

They seemed scared, which was odd as the only time he had seen the pack scared before was when he had inspire it and given their leader his scar. But now most of them literally ran into the cave with their tails between their legs. One of the wolves was carrying something, a person. It was a small figure, and seemed particularly female. As they came closer, he saw the girl had light brown skin and dark brunette hair. She was wearing a worn dress that was fringing at the end and was patched several places, and long mismatched socks, also patched and stitched up.

'_No! It couldn't be.'_ The man thought.

They placed the girl in a cage much smaller than his but seemed to fit her well enough. It was then she decided to begin to stir and wake up. She crinkled her nose and rubbed her head, like she had a handover or something.

'_It's not her! It's not her! It's not her!' _the man chanted in his head. She opened her eyes and started looking around.

'_It's not her! It's not her! It's not her!'_

Finally her eyes landed on him, one a warm chocolate brown and the other a brilliant emerald green.

'_It's her!'_

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><p><strong>AN: well, i try but this time i think the cliff hanger is really good. this chapter started out forced in the end the rest just flowed from my fingers to the keys. I literally had to leave the room i was so pumped.**

**Mangoisme: Thank you im glad you like it. the reason R.P. seems so in character is because she appeared so little in the series so far that she hasnt been given much of a personality besides her obvious shyness and crush on Finn. It is easy to make up a personality for a character that has gone mostly without one so far.**

**Ella Unlimited: Again, than you very much. I have no idea where this story came from but im enjoying the ride so far. and as for where everyone else is, I'll get to that soon enough my friend.**

**W.O.E. out.**


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